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Chelsea Roll Over the Saints

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Eden Hazard and Diego Costa produced fine goals to hand Chelsea a fourth straight win as they once again were the victors at St. Mary's while proving their title credentials in the process

Southampton 0-2 Chelsea

Eden Hazard and Diego Costa produced fine goals to hand Chelsea a fourth straight win as they once again were the victors at St. Mary's while proving their title credentials in the process.

It took just 6 minutes for Hazard to carve through Southampton, prompting a strong spell for the Blues who had things wrapped up with a scintillating second-half strike from Costa.

Image: Chelsea News App

Following an impeccable observation of a minute's silence with the fixture being the last at St. Mary's Stadium before Armistice Day, Chelsea were making all the noise as Eden Hazard created trouble on the right. Victor Moses was having plenty of the ball in a deep position as well, with the impetus on the Blues to surge forward.

Six minutes in and Conte's men would be rewarded through a magical production from Eden Hazard. The Belgian ghosted between the two defenders to meet Moses' pass around the right, where he took it near the byline on the right of the area, then cut in to unleash a low shot through the legs of Forster.

Cautious not to be overwhelmed like Manchester United were at Stamford Bridge last week, the Saints kept their shape following the goal and instead threatened with some dangerous crosses which had Courtois acing off his line to collect. The Belgian shotstopper was also brought into action to deny Tadić's free-kick.

With the game slowed down for a sizable chunk of the first half, Eden Hazard was again looking likely to spring it back into life. He was at the hub of most attacking moves although credit can be dished out to both Kanté and Matić, the latter who set him up for a long drive saved by Forster.

The Southampton keeper would be called upon late in the half to deny Diego Costa when a second goal was appearing inevitable for the Blues. The striker broke through into a one-on-one situation, but would be stopped by a courageous save.

Image: Squawka

Chelsea showed no signs of letting up when the second half commenced, as Fonte sprung into action to clear away Azpilicueta's cross, before some poor decision-making from Alonso squandered a huge opportunity with a number of options available in the box.

In response to the high pressure, a wall of red-and-white made things a little more difficult to infiltrate. That wouldn't be a problem for Diego Costa though. With nothing on, he let fly with a spectacular curling effort out of reach for the keeper from beyond the box, and put the points in the bag for his club.

More damage could have been done in the subsequent minutes, with the goal gaping as Chelsea created a mess out of their opposing defenders. Pedro was left to bundle it in, instead having to turn to get away from defenders and playing it back out before it was cleared.

In turn, Southampton would try to finish strongly and move the margin back to a goal. Tadić's header fizzed over the bar, before Davis' attempt just dipped over as well. Austin then had it back of the net, but it was ruled offside.

Victor Moses' thumping shot stung the hands of Forster as Chelsea really breezed out towards the final whistle. Southampton would be unable to mount any further danger, and they certainly proved, with a move to fourth place, that they're in the mix. Momentum is gathering.